"Smoke Signals" and its deeper meaning

Hey Victor.  From this popular saying, that has many traditional Native American societies up in arms because of its cultural misrepresentation, comes a movie that may in fact be not such a misrepresentation at all.  The movie “Smoke Signals”; directed by Chris Eyre and written by famous author and Native American alike Sherman Alexie, provides a humorous approach into the traditional and cultural life of present day Native American suburbia, now known as the reservation. After viewing the movie, I’ll admit I did have a good laugh or two at the expense of others. But, the movie as a whole has many parts in which the audience can’t seem to forget, because of how funny and outrageous it is.  Those scenes of outrageously funny material are there for more than just entertainment purposes.  The movie presents its audience with a remarkable age old meaning that transcends both time and culture, and is presented to us in a hysterically uplifting manner.  

                “Smoke Signals” sticks out in that every scene is driven by insanely shrewd depictions of Native American life.  One of the best examples is that of Lucy and Velma.  The scene goes something like this.  Victor and Thomas were walking down the road trying to reach the Bus station.  They were on their way to Phoenix, Arizona to pick up the remains of Victors dad.  Victor’s dad had left him and his mother at an early age.  These family problems were justifiable the fault of alcohol in both of Victors parents lives.  Thomas, who is another main character in the story, had decided to tag along with Victor, despite protests from Victor.  As these two characters are walking along, they happen to be passed by two friends named Lucy and Velma in an old car. This cars transmission is broken, these two women are then forced to drive the car in reverse everywhere they go.  The girls stop to see if Victor and Thomas want a ride.  Lucy then proceeds to say,

“What are you goin’ to trade for it.  Were Indians, remember. We Barter!”        

Thomas then proceeds to tell a riveting story about Victor’s dad.  His story reads,

“Arnold got arrested, you know. But he got lucky. They charged him with attempted murder. Then they plea-bargained that down to assault with a deadly weapon. Then they plea-bargained that down to being an Indian in the Twentieth Century. Then he got two years in Walla Walla.”

Lucy and Velma decide that the story is sufficient and they proceed to give Thomas and Victor a ride to the bus station in reverse the whole way.  The two girls then depart Thomas and Victor by saying,

Lucy: You guys got your passports?
Thomas Builds-the-Fire: Passports?
Velma: Yeah, you're leavin' the rez and goin' into a whole different country, cousin.
Thomas Builds-the-Fire: But... but, it's the United States.
Lucy: Damn right it is! That's as foreign as it gets. Hope you two have your vaccinations.

                This movie isn’t just supposed to be a mockery of Native American life and culture, but it is supposed to be a deeper look into Native American spirituality and ways of living.  Alexie in an interview stated that this scene had great implications for the movie and the Native American situation as of present.  In the interview he stated, “the two women and their car provide a sense of time in the movie, when the past, present, and future are all the same, that circular sense of time which plays itself out in the seamless transitions from past to present.”  This message by Alexie brings the scene into a clearer meaning once you see past only the humor of the situation.  It is the age old adage, that sometimes to go forward you have to go in reverse.  We as people can learn a thing or two from this story.  By reinvesting ourselves into our past, we can come to new realizations that could just change who we are and what we’re all about.